Shoe counter production machine



Aug, E8, W53

H. GARYAIT ET AL SHOE COUNTER PRODUCTION MACHINE 4: Sheets-Sfieet 1 Filed NOV. 16, 1951 s t 5 E f v.32, 0 m 0 .m 2 7 6 a i W. W

momma I v Aug. 18, 1953 H. GARYAIT ET AL 2,643,853

SHOE COUNTER PRODUCTION MACHINE Filed Nov. 16, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 /a i 26 P i my I I 'llll' 1 j IE l "1: :;I"""i' I :55 2 -25 I 2 i E 2/ 52 I I 50 60 60 9' Q I;

i- H (ll/m 29 140 E- 28 Ll 55- JNVIQNTORS I BYQOAQ Aug. 18, 1953 H. GARYAIT ET AL 9 3 SHOE COUNTER PRODUCTION MACHINE Filed Nov. 16, 1951 -4 snets-sheet z INVENTORS 194' AQXQW 1953 H. GARYAIT ETAL 2,648,853

SHOE COUNTER PRODUCTION MACHINE Filed NOV. 16 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTORS v flzwefien/ A 7'70 Rye-Ks.

Patented Aug. 18, 1953 SHOE COUNTER PRODUCTION MACHINE Henry Garyait and David D. Pettigrew, Milwaukee, Wis.

Application November 16, 1951, Serial No. 256,728

16 Claims.

Our present invention relates in general to improvements in the art of fabricating shoes, and relates more specifically to improvements in mechanism for manufacturing shoe counters and the like in rapid succession.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide an improved shoe counter production machine which is simple and compact in construction and highly eflicient in operation.

Many diiferent types of machines for fabricating U-shaped shoe counters from flat blanks have heretofore been proposed and used commercially, but all of these prior mechanisms have been objectionable for various reasons. Most of the previous shoe counter production machines were relatively complicated and unreliable in operation thus requiring considerable attention and involving excessive loss of time in order to maintain the same in operation. Many of the prior counter forming assemblage also failed to produce uniform and perfect successive counters and required considerable handling of the blanks, while most of the previous commercial counter formers functioned slowly and produced numerous defective counters. Then too, none of the prior machines of this type were adapted to produce perfectly smooth and properly shaped counters from blanks of slightly varying thickness and many of these machines caused frequent burning due to the use of excess moulding pressure improperly applied while all of the previous counterforming structures also involved difficulties in forming the flanges and in ejecting the finished counters from the moulding zone due to obstruction by machine parts.

It is therefore an object of our invention to provide a shoe counter fabricating machine which obviates all of the above mentioned difficulties and objections, and which is adapted to produce perfect successive counters in rapid succession and with minimum attention.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide an improved shoe counter producing mechanism which is entirely automatic in operation, and wherein the successive blanks are delivered in succession from a magazine and are effectively subjected to successiveforming operations quickly and without manual handling.

A further important object of this invention is to provide a mechanical counter production assemblage which due to the accessibility of its parts can be conveniently set up for the manufacture of different types and sizes of counters, and wherein the finished counters are effectively discharged without the use of picks and similar devices which tend to mar the final product and without interference by the flange wiper.

Still another important object of the invention is to. provide an improved counter molding and flange forming machine in which the forming pressures are most effectively applied so as to iron out wrinkles and to obviate danger of burning and cracking and to thus insure the production of perfect successive final counters, and wherein each succeeding operation is controlled by a preceding functioning of the mechanism.

An additional object of our invention is to provide a high speed fluid pressure actuated and electrically controlled shoe counter manufacturing unit which is dependable in operation and capable of producing uniform successive counters with utmost precision and minimum waste of material and loss of production time.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description which will reveal that the gist of the invention is the provision of a shoe counter production machine in which the flat counter blanks may be loaded in stacked condition in a magazine from which the successive lowermost blanks are automatically laterally removed and initially bent into U-shape, then positively transferred directly from the bending zone to a depending fixed former plug having movable molding jaws and a flange wiper cooperable therewith, then subjected to ironing action and uniform moulding pressure and to effective flange wiping action, and are finally ejected in completed condition by gravity aided by fluid jets.

A clear conception of the features constituting the present improvement, and of the construction and operation of a typical counter producing unit embodying the invention, may be had by referring to the drawings accompanying and forming a. part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate the same or similar parts in the various views. I

'Fig; 1 is a fragmentary somewhat diagrammatic perspective view of the improved shoe counter forming unit embodying a single actuating cylinder for the flange wiper, looking toward the front of the machine but with portions of the structure broken away to reveal normally concealed working parts;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary longitudinal vertical central section through the machine showing a moulded counter in solid line being acted upon by the flange wiper, and also showing a succeeding counter blank in dot-and-dash lines being subjected to1initial U-shaped bending;

ing the initially bent blanks into the moulding zone;

Fig. 6 is a view somewhat similar to Fig. 4;, but with the initial blank feeder, bender and transfer mechanism omitted and showing a modified flange wiper actuating cylinder assemblage;

Fig. '7 is a side view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a rear end view of the moulding jaw pressure equalizing mechanism; Fig. 9 is a view looking directly into the counter moulding zone of the unit, showing the moulding jaws and their actuating levers in final mould ing position in solid lines, and in-retracted DQSition about to close in dot-and-dash lines; and

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary VlBW' similar to Fig. 9 showing a finished counter being ejected between the separated moulding jaws by gravity and air jet action.

In the improved counter production unit the flat counter blanks which are supplied in vertically stacked formation are successively removed laterally from the bottom of the stack and are promptly subjected to U-shape bending whereupon the U-shaped blanks are promptly 1 transferred to a moulding zone in which resilient moulding pressure is applied with an initial ironing and subsequent direct pressing action after which a flange may be wiped upon a protruding edge of the counter while clamped within the moulding zone, and the finished counter is finally ejected primarily by gravity upon release of the moulding pressure. These successive steps of our new method are carried on automatically under the influence of preceding steps, and may be applied in the production of arch supports and curved shank, lip turn, sewed heel, flange out, or any other type of shoe counters. In order to enhance the rate of production, the new unit is adapted to handle several successive blanks being subjected to the above mentioned steps, simultaneously; and the assemblage is such that the set up for the production of various typ f counters may be readily effected and the delivery of the final product takes place without interference or obstruction by the flange wiper.

Referring to the drawings, the improved shoe counter production unit shown therein b Way. of illustration comprises in general a sturdy main frame It spanned at its top by several rigid rear cross-beams l5, l6 and a front transverse beam IT; a supply magazine l8 for a vertical stack of flat counter blanks l9 supported from the front upper beam ll; a horizontally reciprocable feed plate operable by parallel piston rods 2| actu ated by an air cylinder 22 suspended from the cross beams 5 It to deliver the successive lowermost flat blanks |9 rearwardly of the magazine I3 and from beneath the stack; a U-shaped series of parallel rods or pins 23 secured to a vertical end plate 24 and a vertically movable plunger 25 operable by a second air cylinder 26 and coacting with the pins 23 to initially bend each blank 19 into U shape, the pins 23 and Plate is also being movable horizontally by. the, piston rods 2|; a depending moulding plug 2'! firmly but detachably secured to the frame ii; a pair of floating moulding jaws 28, 29 each swingably supported by a lever 30 and a complementary set of links 3|, the former of which are pivotally suspended from shafts 32 journalled in the cross beams l5, l6 and being swingable by an air cylinder 33 and its plunger 34, while the upper jaw portions are independently movable by the plungers 35 of fixed air cylinders 36; a resilient guide plate 31 cooperable with the blank bending pins 23 and plate 24 to transfer each initially bent U-shaped blank l9 from the bending zone into the space between the plug 27 and the jaws 28, 29; a wiper plate 38 operable either by a single cylinder 39 and plunger 40 or by several cylinders 33' and their plungers 40' to form a flange 4| on each final counter 42; and means for admitting one or more air jets 43 downwardly into each finished counter 42 to assist gravity in discharging' the same from the unit when the wiper plate has been withdrawn. "Ihe main frame l4 may be sturdily constructed of angle irons and metal braces, and while the upper portion of this frame i4 is thoroughly reinforced by the beams l5, l6, ll, the lower portion thereof may also be reinforced by braces 45 as shown in Fig. l. The counter blank supply magazine 18 may be fixedly supported centrally from the front beam ll of the frame M by means of brackets which should be spaced apart sufliciently so as to avoid obstruction to the vertical movement of the wiper plate 38, see Figs. 2, 3 and 4. This magazine may be formed of sheet metal and of either one piece as in Fig. l, or separated parts as in Fig. 4, and should be of sufficient height to loosely confine a tall stack of relatively flat pre-tempered counter blanks 19 of any desired shape and size. The bottom of the magazine [,8 is provided with a support 46 upon which the stack of blanks is normally rests, but the front and rear walls of the magazine must be spaced from the support 4% sufficiently to permit passage of the feed plate 23 therebetween.

The feed plate 29 may also be formed of sheet metal and is swingably secured to the reciprocable rods 2| by means of brackets :41 and pivots 68, as depicted in Figs. 2 and 3. This feed plate 20 is of special construction with elevated op posite side portions 58 as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, in order to positively engage the opposite ends of each successive lowermost counter blank l9 of the stack, and to advance'these blanks ofi the fixed support 46 rectilineally and without twisting the same until they have been positioned be neath and in vertical central alinement with the bending plunger 25. Located below the planeof movement oi the feed plate at beneath the'plung er 2 5 and secured to the bracketsfi'l, is a pair of curved sheet metal guide plates 5i! upon which the successive flat blanks I9 are deposited and which, coact with these blanks and with the plunger 25 to initially bend the blanks l9' and to guide them within the U-shaped series of parallel pins 23 see Fig. i. All of the pins 23 are secured at their front ends to the. vertical end plate] which is attached to the bracket 47 and a plate 6!}, and these elements are all slidably supported upon the heavy parallel rods 2|. The rearward motion of the plate 24, brackets 41, and plate 5!} together with the pins 23 is arrested by the resilient guide plate 3? when the latter engages the plug 21; and a manually adjustable stop screw 5| which is threaded in another plate 52 rigidly attached to the front ends of the rods 2| arrests the rearward motion of an ejector plate 56 and thus predetermines the width of the counter flange 4|.

' The air cylinder 26 which actuates the plunger 25 is fixedly mounted upon the same support which carries the magazine [8, and a relatively heavy bar 54 which is adapted to resist the downward motion of the plunger 25 is provided at the bottom of the series of pins 23 and is' adjustably secured to the pin carrying plate '24 by means of slot and screw attachments 55, as illustrated in Figs. 2, 3 and l. Movable along and within the pins 23 and above the bar 54 but in substantial contact therewith, is a counter ejector 56 which is secured to the plate 52 by means of rods 51, 58 the rear ends of which are secured to the ejector by universal joints and the front ends of which are adjustably attached to-the plate 52 by manually adjustable screw thread and lock nut connections as shown in Figs. 2 and ,3, so as to permit adjustment of the position of the ejector 56 relative to the bending zone. The flexible guide plate 3! which consists of two resilient side sections having springs 59 interposed therebetweenyis suspended from the two brackets A! by means of a mounting plate 60 and is movable with the pins 23 across the path of the wiper plate 38, as depicted in Figs. 2, 3 and 5; and the forward motion of the plates 24, 69 and of the pins 23 is arrested when the plate Ell engages the beam IT, while the forward motion of the stop 5|, plate 52 and ejector 56 is arrested when the latter strikes the plate 24. The normally fixed depending moulding plug 27 is of generally cylindrical cross-section at its lower moulding end and has an enlarged head 62 at its upper end which is firmly but detachably secured to the cross-beam iii of the frame I4 by means of clamping plates53 and cap screws 34 so'that it may be readily replaced by other plugs of different size and shape. As shown in Fig. 10, the plug 21 is preferably provided with one or more compressed air passages 65 for effecting downward delivery of air jets 43 therethrough so as to aid gravity in delivering the final counters 42 from the plug. The floating pressure jaws 28, 29 which are swingably suspended from the levers 30 by the links 3i pivotally coacting with their lower portions and the upper portions of which are pivotally connected to the piston rods 35 by bifurcated links 66 and pinsil'i are adapted to coact through the links 66 with a stop plate 58 firmly secured to the frame I4 so as to prevent the jaws 2B, 29 from dropping too far; and the pressures exerted upon the two jaws 28, 29 are constantly equallized by a pair of intermeshing gear segments 69, secured to the pivot shafts 32 near the cross-head 14, as shown in Fig. 8. The swinging lower portions of the elongated jaw actuating levers 30 may be steadied by radius rods in which are pivotally associated with a bearing bracket ll secured to the cross-beam I5; and the counter blank feeding and transfer cylinder 22 is swingably suspended from the frame M by a pivot pin 12 and has its piston 13 adjustably attached to the parallel piston rods 2| by means of a crosshead 14 as illustrated in Fig. 2.

As previously indicated the flange wiper plate 38 may be actuated by a single air cylinder 39 and plunger G3 as shown diagrammatically in Fig. l, but it may be preferable to utilize two parallel cylinders 39' and plungers 40' as in Figs. '2, 6 and 7. In either case, the wiper plate 38 is firmly secured to the medial portion of an upper transverse plate 16 the opposite ends of which are slidably cooperable with upright parallel guide rods 17 the upper ends ofwhich are firmly secured to fixed lugs 18 on the frame 16' and the lower ends of which are likewise secured to a cross-beam 19 which supports the hoisting cylinder or cylinders. In the embodiment of Fig. 1, the single air cylinder 39 is suspended from the medial portion of the beam 19 and has its reciprocable plunger 40 connected to the midportion of a lower transverse plate 8!! the opposite ends of which also slidably coact with the guide rods 11, and which is connected to the upper plate 16 by spaced struts 8!. In the embodiment of Figs. 6 and 7, the duplex air cylinders 39' are mounted upon the opposite ends of the beam 79 and have their reciprocable plunger rods 40' connected to the ends of the upper and lower transverse plates 16, 89 by rigid brackets 82 while the medial portions of these plates 16, are also firmly united by a strut 8!. In both cases the center of the lower beam 19 is connected to the lower frame braces 4-5 by a bolt 83 as shown in Figs. 1, 6 and 7.

The various air cylinders 22, 26, 33, 36, 39 and the ejector air passage 65 are connectible by suitable valves such as electrically actuated solenoid valves with a source of air under pressure, and these valves should be provided with control switches such as starting, limit and reset switches for producing operationof the air cylinders in proper sequence. The air cylinder 22 performs the dual function of feeding the successive counter blanks l9 from the supply stack over the initial blank bending zone, and of transferring the U-shaped blanks into the final moulding zone, while the cylinder 26 effects initial bending of the blanks l9 into U-shape and the cylinders 33, 36 cooperate to effect ironing and final moulding of the counter bodies. The wiper plate 38 is operable by the cylinder 39 or by the dual cylinders 39 to form the flanges 4| on the finished counters 42, and the air jets 43 serve to assist gravity in effecting free downward removal of the finished product. This sequence of operations may be controlled in any suitable manner either electrically. mechanically, or otherwise so' that the completion of one step will initiate the performance of the next step; and also in a manner whereby several counter blanks l9 will be acted upon simultaneously.

When the improved counter production unit has been properly constructed and connected to the air pressure supply source, and proper set up and adjustment of parts have been effected, the normal operation is as follows. The magazine l8 should be constantly provided with an abundant supply of relatively fiat and pre-tempered counter blanks I9, whereupon the air cylinder 22 should be operated to cause the rods 2| to move the feed plate 29 rearwardly from the position shown in Fig. 2 to that shown in Fig. 3, and to thereby remove the lowermost blank I!) of the stack from the fixed bottom plate 46 and to deliver the same laterally upon the guide plates 50 beneath the bending plunger 25 while this preliminary feeding action is taking place, the plunger 25 is elevated and the pin supporting end plate 24 will be disposed in approximately vertical alinement with the plunger 25 so that the flat blank I9 which is removed from the stack cannot drop into the bending zone.

Immediaetly following this feeding step, the air cylinder 22 will be reversely operated to move the fee plate forwardly from beneath the stack of counter blanks l8, and to simultaneous,- ly move the pins 23 and their supporting plate 24 together with the bottom bar 54 forwardly until the plate 24 reaches a position in substantial vertical alinement with the supply stack, by moving the ejector 56 forwardly and against the plate 24 as shown in Fig. 2. The plunger 25 will then be free to descend and the cylinder 26 will immediately function to lower this plunger and to bend the flat counter blanks l9 into U-shape by cooperation with the guide plates 56 and with the pins 23 and bar 54, as depicted in dot-and,- dash lines in Fig. ,2. The cylinder 25 will subsequently function to promptly elevate the plunge er 25 out of the bending zone, whereupon the feeding cylinder 22 will again be free to effect actuation of the feed plate 20.

As soon as the initial blank bending zone has been thus cleared, the nest rearward feeding op- U-shapcd blank l9 into the final moulding zone :e

and about the fixed moulding plug 2?, while the jaws 28, 29 are slightly withdrawn as shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5. This transfer of the U-shaped blank l5 from the initial bending zone to the moulding zone is effected quickly but without .1.

distorting or marring the blank, and is continued until the bodyof the U-shaped blank loosely embraces the plug 27 and the front edge projects forwardly beyond this plug.

Eromptly after this transfer of a blank 19 has been effected, the air cylinders 36 will function to move the upper ends of the two. jaws 28, 29 inwardly and upwardly so as to iron and stretch the U-shaped counter into snug engagement with the plug 27. This action is also immediately followed by functioning of the moulding cylinder 33 which causes the levers 30 and links 31 to swing the lower portions of the moulding jaws into snug contact with each other and firmly a ainst all external portions of the blank. During this final moulding of the counter the pneumatic cylinders 33, 36 will cooperate with the pressure equalizing gear segments 69 to exert uniform resilient pressure against all portions of the counter body, and the moulding pressure will continue while the, ejector 56 and the pins 23 and the bar 5,4 are moved forward by the air cylinder 22 cooperating with rods 2! through the cross: head 14, so that the moulding pressures will con-,- tinue until after the flange wiper has functioned. As soon as the body moulding pressure has been applied and after ejector 55, pins 23 and bar 54 have moved forward, the cylinder 39 or. the dual cylinders will operate to actuate the wiper plate 38 by causing it to travel upwardly along the front face of the fixed plug 21 as illustrated in Fig. 2, thereby forming the flange 4i and producing the final counter 42. These wiper actuating cylinders thereafter promptly act to lower the wiper plate 38 away from the plug 21, where: upon the cylinder 33 operates to spread the jaws 28, 29 and the air jet or jets 43 are delivered downwardly through the plug 21 to cause the finished counter 42 to be delivered from the unit without obstruction. This cycle of operations 8. is performed rapidly andautomatically with re spect to each succeeding blank l9, and several successive blanks are being acted upon simultaneously, as clearly shown in Fig. 2.

Since the wiper mechanism only acts to form the flanges 4i and the wiper plate 38 is normally disposed below the bending and moulding zones, all elements of these zones are readily accessible for inspection, adjustment, and replacement of parts when setting up for the production of different styles of counters. The improved construction of the feed plate 20 with its end elevations 49 insures efiective feeding of the successive blanks l9, and the resilient guide plate functions to effect transfer of the initially bent blanks from the bending zone to the moulding zone and hold the blanks against the pins 23 without marring the edges of the counters. The improved action of the jaws 28, 29 whereby the bent blanks are ironed and stretched to free them of wrinkles before the final molding pressure is applied, results in the production of perfect final counters 42 which are free from cracks and folds, and the resilient equalized moulding pressure Y prevents burning of the product when the blanks l9 vary slightly in thickness.

From the foregoing detailed description it will be apparent that the present invention in fact provides an improved shoe counter production machine which besides being simple and compact in construction is highly efficient and reliable in operation. The unit functions automatically to produce the successive counters .42 in rapid succession and with utmost precision, and to discharge the final counters freely under the influence of gravity and without the aid of picks. The pneumatic actuating devices are readily op.- erable in sequence to effectively perform the successive steps, and the use of a single fiat blank feeding and U-shaped blank ejecting cylinder 22 simplifies the unit and increases the capacity thereof to a maximum. The invention has proven highly satisfactory in actual operation, and the functioning of the pneumatic devices may be ef-. fected with the aid of various types of controls so as to cause the successive steps to be performed in rapid succession and under the infiuence of preceding operations.

it should be understood that it is not desired to 1mm; this invention to the exact details or construction, or of the precise mode of operation of the shoe counter production unit herein shown and described, for various modifications within the scope of the appended claims may occur to persons skilled in the art; and it is also con templated that specific descriptive terms used herein be given the broadest possible interpreter tion consistent with the actual disclosure. V

W claim:

1. In a shoe counter production machine, mean for supporting a stack of counter blanks, means for feeding the successive blanks from said stack and for initially bending the same into U-shape, a depending counter moulding plug adjacent to said bending means, and forming jaws cooperable with the bottom and opposite sides of said plug. a portion of said bending means being mov able to transfer each U-shaped blank to the space between said plug and said jaws, and said jaws being separable sufiioiently to permit free downward removal of the finished counters from said plug. a I

2. In a shoe counter production machine, means for supp r n a ck- Q c un e lank means for feeding the successive blanks from said stack l 9 and for initially bending the same into u shape, a depending counter moulding plug adjacent to said bending means, forming jaws cooperable with the bottom and opposite sides of said plug, a portion of said bending means being movable to transfer each U-shaped blank to thespace between said'plug and said jaws, and said jaws being separable sufliciently to permit free downward removal of the finished counters fromsaid plug, and means for delivering a fluid jet downwardly against each finished counter to assist in said removal.

3. In a shoe counter production machine, means for supporting a stack of counter blanks, means for feeding the successive blanks from said stack and for initially bendingthe' same intoU-shape, a depending counter moulding plug adjacent to said bending means, a' pair of forming jaws cooperable with said plug, aportion of said bending means being operable to transfer each U- shaped blank to the space between said plug and said jaws, and a wiper plate cooperable with said plug between said bending means and said jaws.

4. In a shoe counter production machine, a fixed depending counter moulding plug, means for initially bending a counter into U-shape, means for shifting the initially bent counter out of the bendingzone and onto said plug, a pair of swingably suspended" forming jaws cooperablewith said plug to mould the counter applied to the plug, means for swinging the upper ends of said jaws toward said plug to initially engage the upper ends of the U-shaped counter and to stretch the opposite sides thereof and for thereafter causing the lower jaw portions to swing likewise to finally mould the bend of the stretched counter.

5. In a shoe counter production machine, a magazine for supporting a stack of counter blanks, fluid pressure actuated means for feeding the successive lowermost blanks from beneath said stack and for initially bending the same into U-shape, a depending counter moulding plug disposed laterally adjacent to said bending means, and fluid pressure actuated forming jaws successively cooperable with the upper and bottom portions of said plug, a portion of said bending means being movable to transfer each U-shaped blank to the space between said plug and said jaws, and said jaws being separable sufliciently to permit free downward removal of the finished counters from said plug.

6. In a shoe counter production machine, means for supporting a stack of counter blanks, fluid pressure actuated means for feeding the successive lowermost blanks from said stack and for initially bending the same into U-shape, a depending counter moulding plug adjacent to said bending means, a pair of floating jaws successively cooperable with the top and opposite sides and with the bottom of said plug, and means operable by said fluid pressure actuated means to transfer successive initially bent counter blanks from the bending zone to the space between said plug and said jaws.

7. In a shoe counter production machine, a fixed depending counter moulding plug, means for initially bending successive counter blanks into U-shape and for applying the same to said plug, a pair of pivotally suspended floating jaws successively cooperable with the top and opposite sides and with the bottom of said plug to mould the applied counters, fluid pressure actuated means for moving said jaws relative to the applied counters to initially iron out wrinkles and to subsequently apply direct resilient pressure blank into the initial bending zone.

masts l0 thereto, and means for equalizing the pressure exerted by said jaws.

8. In a shoe counter production machine, a fixed depending counter moulding plug, means for initially bending a counter into U-shape, means for shiftingtheinitially bent cacm r ut of the bending zone and onto said plugp a pair of swingably suspended forming jaws cooperable with said plug to mould the counter applied to the plug, fluid pressure actuated means for moving said jaws to initially engage the upper ends of the U-shaped counter so as to stretch the opposite'sides thereof, and other fluid pressure actuated means for thereafter causing the lower jaw portions to engage and mould the bend of the stretched counter.

9. In a shoe counter production machine, means for supporting a stack of counter blanks, means for feeding the successive blanks from said stack, means for initialiy' bending the successive pair of forming jaws cooperable with said'plug,

said bending means. being operable to transfer each U-shaped blank to the space between said plug and said jaws, and said feeding means being simultaneously operable to feed a fresh counter 19. In a shoe counter production machine, a counter blank supply magazine, means forming an initial blank bending zone adjacent to said magazine, a moulding plug disposed adjacent to said bending zone, and means for feeding a counter blank from said magazine to said bending zone and for simultaneously transferring an initially bent blank from said zone to said plug.

11. In a shoe counter production machine, a counter blank supply magazine, means forming an initial blank bending zone adjacent to said magazine, a moulding plug disposed adjacent to said bending zone, means cooperating with said zone forming means to initially bend each counter delivered thereto from said magazine into U- shape, means cooperable with said plug for finally moulding each initially bent counter delivered thereto from said bending zone, and means for moving said zone forming means to feed successive flat blanks thereto from said magazine and to simultaneously transfer successive bent blanks therefrom to said plug.

12. In a shoe counter production machine, a magazine for confining a stack of flat counter blanks, a U-shaped series of pins forming an initial counter blank bending zone adjacent to said magazine, a feed plate movable to deliver the successive blanks from said stack to a position adjoining said pins, a plunger cooperable with said pins to initially bend the successive blanks into U-shape, a moulding plug disposed adjacent to said pin series, and an ejector cooperable with said pins to transfer the successive initially bent counters from said bending zone to said plug.

13. In a shoe counter production machine, a magazine for confining a stack of flat counter blanks, a U-shaped series of pins forming an initial counter blank bending zone adjacent to said magazine, a feed plate movable to deliver the successive blanks from said stack to a position adjoining said pins, a plunger cooperable with said pins to initially bend the successive blanks into U-shape, a moulding plug disposed adjacent to said pin series, an ejector cooperable with said pins to transfer the successive initially bent counters from said bending zone to said plug,

1i and common means for simultaneously actuating said feed plate and said ejector,

14;. In a shoe counter production machine, a magazine for confining a stack of flat counter blanks, a U-shaped series of pins forming an initial counter blank bending zone adjacent to said magazine, a feed plate movable to deliver the successive blanks from said stack to a position adjoining said pins, a plunger cooperable with said pins to initially bend the successive blanks into U-shape, a moulding plug disposed adjacent to said pin series, a resilient guide plate of substantially the same shape as that of said plug disposed within but spaced from said pin series, and an ejector movable within said pin series to transfer the successive U-shaped counter blanks from said bending zone to said plug through the space between said plate and said jaws upwar ly against m upper free ends of the -shape b an o stretch t e latt r into snu contact with said plu and means for thereaf r app y direct w rd pressure to the lower pore tions of the jaws to finally mould the counter.

16. In a shoe counter production machine, a fix d d pend n ount r moulding plus. means for initially bending a flat counter blank into ueshap l ans for t ansf rringthe initiallybent blank out of; the bend ng Zone, and, onto said p a pair of p vota y su p ded. floating laws cooperable with said pi e to. m uld the appli blank into counter shape upon, the plug, fluid pressure actuated means for initiallyswi in the upper p rtions of said laws u wardly a a nst the upper free ends of the u-shaped blank to stretch the latter into snug contact with said plug. and other fluid pressure actuated means for thereafter applying direct inward pressure to the lower portions of the jaws to nally mould the counter.

GARYAIT. DAVID. PE'IYTIGREW.

Beijerences Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,471,261 Heath Clot. 16,, 1923 2,463,927, Garyait May 3, 19.49 

